Timeless Love
by TCMClarky
Summary: After an apparent malfunction with a machine of her own design, Hermione is sent back through time and thrown into situations she never thought possible. With the help of her new friends, will she find her way home, or discover that she's where she was meant to be all along? Hermione/Gideon/Fabian
1. Chapter 1

Life after the war was hard on everyone, but eventually most everyone was able to move forward. One thing was for certain, and that was that no one was truly the same. The Weasley family and those surrounding them were a perfect example of this change. Fred and George, while still jokesters, were a bit more serious and not quite as uncontrollable. After the near loss of Fred during the final battle, it seemed to strike them that no one was indestructible, even them. They now put a lot more thought and planning into their pranks, preparing for any outcome that should arise.

Ron Weasley had grown up and matured considerably, and no longer snapped at the slightest provocation. Due to his abandonment of Harry and Hermione during the Horcrux hunt, he rather forcefully came to the conclusion that sometimes things didn't have a cut and dry solution, and that you had to look at every possibility before making up your mind about something, because your first instinct could very well be wrong.

Hermione Granger was another matter entirely. While not technically a Weasley, she was quite close to the family, and was around just as often. While her relationship with Ron never quite worked out, they remained good friends. You could still probably call her a know it all, her thirst for knowledge would most likely never change. She had however loosened up quite a bit, learning to live life thoroughly instead of just reading about it. What with S.P.E.W., everyone had expected her to go into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, but she surprised them all. She instead wholeheartedly took up a post in the Department of Mysteries, wanting to discover the intricacies of love. She herself had never been in love. Viktor had been more of a fling, and things with Ron had obviously not worked out.

As it turned out, it was quite a good thing that she worked where she did. She was one of the first to discover when the ministry, in all its infinite wisdom, was contemplating instituting a marriage law, and was able to stall them until she could complete her newest invention. Her machine would be able to find everyone their perfect match; their "soul mate" if you will. She convinced the minister that people would be less likely to rebel against the law if you could guarantee them happiness instead of just throwing random people together and hoping for the best. She had completed her task within two months, and thus Marriage Law 62442 was born. Letters were sent to every wizarding household within the purview of the ministry stating the following:

By order Of Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, today will begin the implementation of Marriage Law 62442. The law states that within the next two years, every witch and wizard between the ages of 18 and 45 must be married. The implementation of such a severe measure is made necessary due to the diminished population resulting from the war, and the continuous up rise in squib births. Hermione Granger, in conjunction with the Ministry of Magic, has developed a new process to ensure compatible matches. All citizens affected by this law are therefore requested to make an appointment with the Ministry to find your match.

Hoping you are well,

Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister of Magic


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned any part of the Harry Potter franchise.

AN: It'll be a bit slow going at first, but please let me know what you think!

While it certainly helped, Hermione's invention did not entirely quell the uproar caused by the Ministry's announcement. Pureblood families were upset that formal betrothals may need to be broken, while muggleborns were appalled by the idea of arranged marriages, no matter how compatible they may be. Since her involvement had been made public in the announcement, Hermione had a proverbial target on her back. She received hate mail from anyone who was displeased with the law, but it was about equal with what she got thanking her for finding a way to make the law more bearable. It was Friday now, and she would begin matching her first people on Monday morning. She therefore decided to spend her weekend over at the Burrow, hoping that the Weasleys weren't too angry with her.

It was with an underlying sense of trepidation that Hermione apparated to the Burrow on Saturday morning. She had barely appeared at the gate when she was tackled by a flying red head. "Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed, helping her back to her feet apologetically; "I'm so happy you're here," she continued, as she pulled her friend towards the house. "That machine of yours is genius, we can finally get Harry to settle down with me!" She prattled, going on and on about how he was just what she needed. Harry had steadfastly avoided commitment with Ginny, preferring a casual relationship. Hermione rather thought that Harry may actually be interested in someone else as distracted as he was.

"Ginny," Hermione began hesitantly, afraid of her friend's reaction. "I'm not really sure…" Her words were cut off abruptly however as they entered the chaos that was the Weasley household. Looking around, she saw Molly lecturing the twins, who judging by the soot covering them from head to toe, had probably made something explode again. Ron could be found over in the corner, trying to sneak extra food without his mother noticing. He happened to be in luck, because just then, Molly looked up from her rant and spotted Hermione and Ginny by the door.

"Hermione dear!" Molly said, bustling over to Hermione and giving her a hug. Holding her back out at arm's length, she lamented "You're getting so thin dear, you need to eat!" As Molly turned to cook something up for her despite Hermione's protests to the contrary, he caught sight of her youngest son, frozen in her glare with a full mouth and a guilty look upon his face. "Ronald Weasley! You've just had breakfast! We'll have no food left in this house for anyone else if you keep eating the way you do! That poor girl you get matched up with…"

Molly kept ranting, while the twins pulled the girls into a conversation. They headed into the living room, leaving Molly and Ron to their argument in the kitchen. "So Hermione, what's this we've heard about a marriage law?" Fred asked, standing in front of where Hermione was sitting on the loveseat. Fred decided to take the seat next to her, while George took the arm of the loveseat, so she was pressed in between the two of them. As one they put their arms around her, Fred's going around her waist while George's went around her shoulders. "Our true love eh?" Fred asked, a lascivious look upon his face. "Wouldn't be lucky enough to get you would we?" added George winking. "Guys, I don't know who anyone's matched with yet." Hermione laughed, elbowing them before she continued. "I doubt I could handle the both of you though!"

Just then, Molly entered the room, Ron trailing behind her sheepishly. "No one could handle those two dear." Molly replied, rolling her eyes at her twins fondly. "Thank goodness for this new law, I'm so excited that all my babies will be married and in love! We'll be there first thing Monday morning to get this all settled. I will have at least six weddings to plan after all!" Molly exclaimed, though not looking put out about it at all. Everyone knew that Molly wanted more grandchildren.

Not long later Harry arrived, and all the boys and Ginny went out to play Quidditch. Everyone was home except for Bill and Fleur, because they were already married. Charlie had even come home from Romania to find out who he'd be spending the rest of his life with. The weekend seemed to fly by, the only odd one out was Harry. While everyone else was at least curious about their match, if not exactly excited, Harry mainly looked nauseous. Hermione tried to speak to him about it, but he just insisted that he was fine.

Monday morning arrived, and with it came overwhelming crowds of people demanding to know who they had been matched to. Hermione was set up in a previously unoccupied office up on level one, since they couldn't just let people wander through the Department of Mysteries. When they arrived, it was a simple task to get them sorted. It was a relatively unknown fact that Ollivander provided the Ministry with a record of all the wands he'd ever sold, and to whom, as did all of the lesser known wandmakers. As the wand chooses the wizard, the machine would compute wand compatibility. You can tell a lot about a person from their wand, as none are ever made the same. This component, combined with complicated arithmantic formulas and the like, would tell a person who they were most perfectly suited to.

The morning was flowing rather quickly when Weasleys started coming in. First to walk through her door was Charlie who, though Hermione didn't see him often, was one of her favorites. He was just the kind of guy that everyone gets along with naturally. "Charlie, it's so good to see you!" Hermione said, going over to give him a hug. Charlie's hugs always made her feel like she was right at home.

"Hey Hermione, how are you? I know you're just hoping this thing will put us together, aren't you?" Charlie said with a roguish wink, making Hermione laugh.

"Oh yes Charlie, you know I just can't resist your charms!" she joked, getting him all set up. "Okay, so just a few turns of this…these here…and there!" The machine beeped and spit out a slip of paper with the name of Charlie's match on it. Hermione held it up with a flourish and said "And the ruggedly handsome Charlie Weasley is paired with… Nymphadora Tonks!" As soon as he heard the name slip from her lips, Charlie's eyes lit up. He had always kind of had a thing for the clumsy girl, and after Remus died in the war, he didn't think he'd get another shot. "I guess I'll just have to go find her then, won't I?" he said with a wink, as he strode out of the room.

Percy would normally have been next, but as he was already married to Penelope, he was exempt. Hermione looked at the door expecting either Fred or George, but she shouldn't have been surprised when they came in together. "We're here to find our lucky, lovely ladies!" They said together with playful smirks on their faces.

"I'll have to do you one at a time, so who's first?" Hermione asked, just knowing that this wasn't going to go as planned. After a series of distractions including a coin flip and oddly enough, a puking pastille, it was decided that Fred would go first.

"Alright Forge," George said, "you can go first so you can tell me how painful it is!"

"Right you are brother of mine, it is my turn to be the test subject!" Fred exclaimed, coming to sit down by the machine wile Hermione sighed exasperatedly. "It doesn't hurt!" she said, shaking her head at their antics. Eventually, she got them to sit still long enough to test them. They downright refused to find out their results before each other, so after they had both been tested, she sat them down t5o tell them who they'd been matched with. Fred had gotten paired with Angelina, there were no surprises there. What was interesting however was who George had gotten. Luna Lovegood.

Hermione looked up startled, while Fred looked like he was trying not to laugh. George looked slightly sheepish as he explained. "We've kind of been seeing each other for the past month or so…" He trailed off as Fred lost control of himself. He was laughing hysterically while Hermione looked at him reprovingly, though she couldn't stop her lips from twitching slightly.

"Hey, her creatures she comes up with give me ideas for pranks!" George defended, blushing slightly nonetheless. Everyone was just glad that George would be happy, though Hermione knew that Fred would never let him live it down.

The twin left and in came Ron, looking slightly nervous. His results came back fairly quickly, and he was pleasantly surprised when he was paired with Demelza Robbins, an old Gryffindor chaser who loved to talk quidditch as much as he did.

When it was Ginny's turn, she was practically bubbling over with excitement. "I just know I'll be with Harry, we're perfect for each other!" she gushed, bouncing on her toes expectantly. It wasn't destined to be however. When Hermione retrieved Ginny's slip, she was so nervous to tell Ginny who it was that instead of liking at it and telling her herself, she simply handed the paper over so that Ginny could read it herself. Hermione watched as Ginny's face fell and she slowly turned red, sputtering "What? But… not Harry? Not that he isn't incredibly handsome… I just thought…"

"Who is it Ginny?" Hermione asked, more than anxious to see who one of her closest friends had been coupled with. With growing astonishment, and a fair bit of appreciation, Ginny replied "Draco Malfoy!"


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: No, sadly I do not own any part of the Harry Potter Franchise.

AN: I know the chapters are short, I'm trying to make them longer, but it's just the way I think, in short concrete moments. I'm sorry if it bothers you!

"I'm sorry, what?" Hermione asked, sure that she couldn't have heard her friend correctly. Surely, Ginny can't have been paired with Malfoy! Granted, a lot HAD changed during the war, including the Malfoy family.

Lucius of course went to Azkaban, evidence of his crimes in this war and the last finally catching up with him. Narcissa, though she was married to him, appeared not to have gotten her hands dirty, preferring to watch from afar. This lack of concrete proof, along with her direct defiance of Voldemort in the clearing declaring Harry dead while he still lived helped to secure her freedom.

Draco, however, was the one who had changed the most. Truthfully, he had started to change during their sixth year, while trying to figure out the impossible task set before him. While he didn't lose his life for failing to kill Dumbledore, his already meagre standing in the ranks fell further, leaving him pretty much equal with Peter Pettigrew when it came to favor in the Dark Lord's eyes. When the manor became headquarters for the Death Eaters, he began to see the realities of his decisions, and the faults in his pride.

When Harry, Ron and Hermione were brought to the manor, he didn't outright identify them, even though he obviously knew who they were. He was tired of being in the center of chaos and misery. During the final battle, after the debacle in the Room of Requirement, Draco decided to cut his losses and switch sides. He would probably still go to Azkaban, but he still had some vestige of pride, and it wouldn't let him fight for something he didn't believe in anymore.

As it turns out, he needn't have worried too much about it. At his trial, Harry gave testimony on what he could, and his mother spoke to the fact that he really hadn't had much of a choice. He'd basically been offered as a sacrifice for his father's failures. Given the fact that he was a minor and had in fact not committed any crime of his own volition, he was cleared by the Wizengamot. Now an Auror alongside Harry, he's been slowly rebuilding the Malfoy name, and become not just respected, but well liked by many.

The rest of Ginny's appointment went rather smoothly, considering the unexpected news. Enthusiasm slowly building, Ginny left the room to inform her family of her fate, and track down her man. As she left the room, Hermione slowly shook her head, fully expecting that to be the most shocking news of the day.

Any worries that Harry might take it badly were put to the side when he entered next, looking slightly bemused, but rather more wary. Looking like he was headed towards the gallows, he went and sat in the chair allowing Hermione to hook him up reluctantly.

"Harry, what on earth is the matter?" Hermione exclaimed, looking worriedly at her best friend. Harry just looked at her and shook his head, as though he might be sick if he opened his mouth. Hermione decided that if he wasn't willing to talk, she may as well run the test and get it over with. Hopefully all his worries would be quelled when he found out who he was to be with, perhaps he was just nervous?

Grabbing the paper as it shot out of the machine, Hermione looked to see whose name was on it. Then she looked again, and stared at it for a long time. Pulling up a chair to sit in front of him, she just stared at him until he finally looked at her looking for all the world as if he was afraid she was about to start yelling at him. She was devastated, not by what the paper said, but by the look on his face.

"Harry, why didn't you tell me?" She asked, looking close to tears herself. She couldn't believe that he wouldn't trust her with something so important to him.

"I just… you were, are, my first and best friend Hermione, I didn't want you to hate me!" He stammered, leaning forward to put his face in his hands. Feeling completely at a loss, Hermione knelt on the floor in front of him and wrapped him in a huge hug.

"Harry James Potter!" she admonished, fighting to hold back her own tears. "How could you think that? How could I hate you, leave you, when you're my brother? My best friend? I don't care who you love as long as you're happy! That's all I ever wanted for you."

They just sat like that for a long time, until Harry had recovered himself enough to ask, slightly tremulously, "Who is it then?" She could tell he was trying to hold himself together, so she just handed him the paper, letting him absorb the news for himself. She thought she saw a slight twitch of his mouth that might constitute as a smile, but then it fell just as quickly.

"How do I do this?" He asked, looking imploringly at her. "How do I just tell them?"

"Well,'' Hermione said in a slightly joking manner; "They've already learned that Ginny will be marrying Malfoy, how much more shocking will it be? I mean, Neville's already practically family." she stated with a wink. Harry gave off a weak chuckle. Noticing that he was still a bit wary she added "Besides, they love you Harry. Family doesn't give up on each other just because of who you are. And if they do, they're not the Weasleys I know." She stated firmly, pushing him lightly on the shoulder.

Looking slightly, if not completely better, Harry headed off to face the crowd outside. Hermione went with him for support, but in the end, it really wasn't needed. The only slightly off reaction he received was from Ron, but he was only slightly put out that he hadn't known in the first place.

Hermione was heading back into her office to continue with her work when she was stopped by Molly. "Oh but dear, aren't you going to find out who you're destined to be with? I simply must know so I can start planning all these weddings!" she exclaimed, bustling her back into the office, followed by the entire Weasley clan.

"Oh, but…" Hermione tried to protest, but she was pushed into the chair and hooked up by a smirking Harry.

"Now it's your turn in the hot seat!" He declared, entering the combo an exasperated Hermione gave him with amusement. When the paper came whizzing out Hermione made to grab it, but Fred was too quick for her, and snatched it from her, cackling as she worked to quickly free herself from her own machine. She finally got it unlatched as Fred opened her results with a flourish. About to demand he return it to her so she could read it herself, she just managed to catch a glimpse of his confused face as she disappeared.

Chaos erupted as Hermione disappeared, everyone demanding to know what happened. George walked over to where his twin was, grabbing the paper from his now limp hand to read what it said for himself.

"Well what's it say?" Harry demanded, in full Auror mode, desperate to locate his now missing best friend.

The twins looked up, confusion and recognition marring both their faces as they spoke.

"It says" Fred began,

"That she was matched to" George continued slowly.

"Gideon"

"and Fabian"

"Prewett." They finished together, looking at their mother.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*_*_*_*_*_*_*HGF*_*_*_*_*_*_*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

One minute Hermione had been about to berate Fred, and the next, she had landed in a heap on the ground. Looking around her, she quickly realized that she was no longer in the Ministry. Shivering in the cold she quickly surveyed her surroundings, and determined that she was in the field the boys used to play Quidditch at the Burrow. Shaking her head in confusion, she barely had time to contemplate her predicament when she heard shouting from behind her.

Whirling around, she saw half a dozen figures engaged in battle, a couple more stationary heaps at their feet. Quickly switching into battle mode, she pulled out her wand and dashed towards the fight. Looking around, she quickly assessed that five of the figures were in full death Eater regalia, while the remaining two looked vaguely familiar, twins she decided.

Without another moment to decide, she jumped into the fray to help. The twins looked her over and decided she was on their side. They quickly formed a circle, their backs to each other, and began to duel the remaining Death Eaters. The addition to their forces helped greatly, not even mentioning the fierceness that was the mystery girl with a wand. They swiftly took down their opponents, and after making sure they were unconscious and bound securely, turned to face each other at last.

What in Merlin's name was going on, and how did this happen, she wondered, trying to sort things out as the two men she didn't quite know turned to look at her. They were definitely related to the Weasleys she observed, they looked almost exactly like Fred and George, but there was one noticeable difference. Instead of the traditional Weasley red hair they both had short brown hair, which she thought rather suited them.

Just as she was going to speak, the one on the left asked "Well, now that you've saved our lives, who exactly are you and how did you get here?"

Hermione flushed bright red, embarrassed. "Well, I think we just about saved each other, you both fought brilliantly yourselves. I'm Hermione Granger, and I'm not really sure how I got here. I was at the Ministry when my machine must have malfunctioned, and I landed here. I know you must be related to the Weasleys, but I don't remember meeting you before." She said, examining their faces.

The men chuckled as if she'd said something funny. The one who'd spoken first continued. "Well we're not Weasleys, our sister is the one who married into their family, we're Prewetts. My name is Gideon, and my unfortunately less attractive brother here is Fabian." The one named Fabian rolled his eyes, shoving his brother playfully.

"I'm certainly not the ugly one, but I obviously have better eyesight! It's lovely to meet you Hermione, but forgive me, I've never met you before either. How do you know my sister?"

Hermione was at this point looking frantically between the two of them. She knew that Molly's brothers were named Gideon and Fabian, but she also knew that they had been killed during the first war. How was it possible then that they were standing here in front of her, perfectly alive and well? Unless…

"I'm sorry, but what year is it exactly?" Hermione asked, trying not to panic. How could she have gone back in time? It wasn't possible! Was it?"

The twins looked at her strangely, but it was Fabian who answered her.

"Well, it's 1981 of course. Are you alright?"

Hermione was most certainly NOT alright! How in the world could this have happened? One minute she was with her friends, the next she was in the past, with two people who should be dead but weren't. Hermione however had no time to answer, because at that moment, there was a distant crash from the direction of the burrow. Without a second thought they started running, Gideon and Fabian each grabbing one of Hermione's hands as they started down the hill. One of them must have tripped however, because as soon as both men grabbed her hands they all lost their balance, falling and rolling down the hill together. Upon arrival they all stood, with the feeling that they had fallen a lot farther than the height of the hill.

Shaking off her dizziness, Hermione cautiously led them towards the house. Pulling out their wands they cautiously opened the door. Not one of them was prepared for what they found inside.


End file.
